It always puts me off when people use inflammatory rhetoric as does Mr. Nassirian. I have a niece who is about to attend one of the colleges he thinks to be invulnerable, and it will cost about $200,000 for her to attend this institution over four years. "Outlandish" and "shoddy" just don't cut it. His point that the Ivies should not feel threatened is accurate. But, what about the middle and lower tiers of colleges and universities? If they don't adapt and attempt to control costs while simultaneously providing excellent instruction, I think they will find themselves in a difficult environment going forward. And on-line education does represent an alternative, no matter what he thinks.

How one can be so mechanical and dependent on a machine? We will lack emotional attachment if things go on like this. The day is not far when everything will be online. As far as studies are concerned, it's right that the increasing fees are beyond the reach of middle class and lower middle class families.

Having gone the grad school path at a private university twenty years ago, I see the horrific cost being foisted upon young people today, as though it ware the Holy Grail; it is not worth $80-100k for two years. Yes, maybe 5 or 10, out of each class of 60-80, will hit the payoff, but unless your employer is biting the bullet for you, you may benefit from a reputable on-line school, but there are lots of cheesy hucksters there, too.

How can better access to better education at lower cost exist together? 1. The potential for replacing much of the written texts with electronic books with film clips to provide lower cost, more effective "text books" is enormous, and a good start! Different courses at different levels use technology in different ways. Collaboration between existing colleges and universities to share talent and ideas is extremely important. Probably state universities might be at the forefront of this effort, simply because they are less proprietary; competition is both a plus and a minus.

Replacing overpriced textbooks with electronic media is a good idea. College texts alone can cost $500 per semester. But I can't see replacing physical universities with online courses. The interaction with live professors at a college is irreplaceable.

Online Universities are really great. I have 2 "physical" and 1 online diploma. The latter one was the last educational experience and very good one (South Africa, Stellenbosch University). I've been lucky to meet (during yearly sessions) the best professors of the university and communicate with my colleagues. That was enough of physically being at the university. The rest has been done from home and online with good advice from the teachers and other students. However, the online education is good when it goes after a physical one, so that you have an understanding of what this is all about.
--Chris

I dont think an online educational institute would provide much help as programmes like personnel development, group interaction, ambiance, of a discussion and lots of other tangible things would not be replaced by laptops and internet. But experienced people demanding a higher skill and training may opt for this.

I've gone to my local junior college and University of Phoenix online. Both were good experiences, but with the online university, I found it frustrating when in debate not having that instant give and take. There would also be times where reading the words on a screen would lead to misunderstandings because sometimes, especially in debates and/or discussions, tone of voice can matter and can be the difference between someone taking offence or not.

The biggest advantage of online universities, or even my local junior college now offering more and more online only as well as hybrid classes, is for people like me that work two jobs and really need the ability to turn something in any time between midnight and midnight as opposed to a hard deadline of 10 am Tuesday morning.

I worked at an online, for profit university. Unfortunately, I've been exposed to some of the inner workings that have shown how poorly such systems actually function. Ultimately, it is about making money. The online universities are diploma mills. Professors are pressured into passing students regardless of skill, ability, or retention of material. Most individuals who are adept at managing their student workload will not question their grades because there's a self-assuredness when performing the work. The one's who are not very studious receive high marks and are pleasently surprised. Are they a threat? Eventually, yes. Right now, no. However, there was a trend I did notice while working at the online university. A number of students were choosing the online path as a matter of convenience more so than cost or quality of education. In terms of cost, the value of the investment is not there for an online university versus a brick and mortar with a strong reputation for academics. In terms of quality, even the worst brick and mortar offers something of greater value than online schools.

I earned three degrees traditionally, including one graduate degree, and I have 90% of a doctorate. When I felt the need to pursue an additional graduate degree, I chose the University of Phoenix and did the degree entirely online. Here are my observations: 1) I worked my butt off and earned every bit of that degree. 2)I learned a marvelous amount of new information, skills, resources, tools, and perspectives. 3) Not that I was at all weak, but I improved in my online communication skills to be a better participant in all online formats. 4) The student-centricity of the UOP impressed me more than the other half-dozen educational institutions with which I had been a student or instructor. 5) The efficiency and effectiveness of the UOP systems astounded me. 6) UOP, and many of its peers, are not diploma mills. Diploma mills by definition are simply charlatan organizations that ask the consumer to pay a fee for which a nonaccredited degree is issued. The UOP and its legitimate peers are satisfying accreditation standards and demanding appropriate scholarship and work from their students. Conclusion: It is not a case of either/or. Rather, it is a case of both/and. The traditional academic institutions will always have their place. I know; they did me a great service. Nevertheless, with that world, I believe we must embrace the wealth of resources provided by our excellent online institutions too. Given the evolution of our increasingly global economy, to do anything less is to regress.

I earned my Bachelor degree online. Why, because I travel in my work and am unable to attend a brick and mortar class. I found my classes very challenging, informative, good discussions and most of all I could attend from any place I had internet access. Without this I could not have competed my degree.

I made some good friends. There were four of us who were together most of the way through. Three of us met in Portland Maine for a long weekend camping trip and I attended the wedding of the fourth in Dallas. We established lasting relationships through learning.
I don't believe I missed anything but maybe a few sleepless nights because someone in the dormitory was making an ass of themselves. My classmates were not low income people who needed extra time and work to complete their education. They were all managers in their professions seeking the degree they never obtained.

My degree was from UOP, one of the best and for profit universities in the US.

That degree that I have from an online university could have been earned by the person who I paid to go through the program in my name.

I have taught and tutored at a university that uses both online and in-class education with an open admission policy. I believe people feel that the online route is cheaper, but it may not necessarily be the case. The for-profit education schools do charge tuition fees that are well above an in-state college program. I thought the faculty at this school worked very hard to ensure the students received a good education, which otherwise may not be an option. Students had chance to rate faculty toward end of the course.

That said, it is critical to check the school carefully because it is a serious commitment of time and money for the student.

Thoughts that arise from the blending of original self-knowledge and other forms of consequent experiential knowledge provide the motives to take action to realize them in external tangible form. This is why the best of human thinking begins and ends with how to manifest one's uniqueness in the world. When you realize the beautiful vision of your heart, of your true self, you will rise to manifest the greatness of your dominant thoughts in all of your actions.

In short, taking classes online and earning your degree online is no different from taking classes in person--it's just that online classes are a more convenient way of accomplishing your goals.

Mr. Ray Freer, paying $200K for an "education" at a for-profit school isn't anything to be proud of, I'd consider it foolishness.

Jim, Larry, and others promoting the UOP and other for-profit diploma mills, I can understand your need to defend such schools, as you must have given a tremendous effort and genuinely sacrificed plenty to finish your schooling at UOP, not to mention the ridiculous amount of debt you must've accumulated, but regardless of your pleasant experience and nice friends you've made, countless acts of fraud are being committed across the United States by for-profit schools, and so many are popping up nowadays its hard to keep track of them.

Yet, the graduates of such schools are not finding jobs and are not being trained adequately for decently paying jobs.

The corrupt industry of for-profit schools is but one of the many scams being run across the country to rob taxpayers of money, the likes of which will likely lead to the regretful economic, moral, and overall fall of this once great nation.

Bottom line: The online-only institutions are believed to be inferior by most.

Since when is education being compared with cost? I know that the costs of education are rising at an alarming rate, but an online university will never be able to replace a brick and motar university. The essence of a university is to socilize and learn the tricks of the trade physically and not sitting infront of a computer, which kills the essence of studing. A university's sole purpose is not only to impart knowledge but also to free the mind of the learners and get them ready for the real world.

I have a degree in Clinical Lab Science. An online degree in that field would be unacceptable. I noticed that none of the comments reflected how pursuit of a science degree can be done online. Only a few courses could be online, but we must have the science labs.

I think that online universities may only consume a small portion of the market and this small portion will have to be young and ambitious entrepreneurs like me. Why? Because I'm trying to set up my business, and things are moving pretty well, but I know the wealth of possibilities education can bring but I also hate sitting in a class all day long to some computer's timetable. It would be great to be able to further my business as well as equip myself with the weapon of education at the same time.

I have been to exposed to different learning experiences and think online learning offers tremendous advantages. As a contractor and remote manager for my day job, I work from home and participate in video conferences all the time, so being on site is no longer part of my psychological need. Once you understand metrics, resourcing, and work flow planning, you know the project is moving forward on schedule.

Learning is a mindset, and you get out of the experience what you put into it. Online material can be continuously improved and frequent testing part of the learning experience. There are several high school history websites that you can explore for the multimedia experience. I enjoyed a history site for NC that is hosted by Duke (I think). It is a first-class effort. My experience with Navy schooling taught me the value of frequent testing as part of the reinforcing process.

Another advantage is that you can listen to different points of view from the best of the best via mp3 files. We are just scratching the surface; creative lesson plan design will be a skillset of the future.

As so with travel agents and stock brokers, technology will displace registrars like Mr. Nassirian soon enough. The huge edifice of brick-and-mortar colleges will largely crumble, with only the moneyed elite sending their children away for an education. Let's stop subsidizing colleges to the tune of more than $100 billion annually--why should taxpayers pay for "transition to adulthood"?

I attend Walden University. Here at Walden, the red flag raises to me. Will employers see my education marketable? Or will they consider my learning hard. Most of them say it's hard and takes a settled determined person to continue. I believe that online schools, most of them offer very good education. Online learning has midterms that are timed. You must read and research. The main point is there are no distractions from the the crazy group of students or laughing sounds. It's all concentration.

Being an adjunct profesor for several of the online universities, I take offense to being called "shoddy." Online universities provide a niche service to those students who are unable to attend a physical class (those who travel, those with rotating shifts or unknown shifts, military, remote rural). I take great pride in my teaching, and many of my students I would easily stack up against [those from] any physical nonprofit university. I wonder. What is so bad about "profit"? Why is the educational establishment so against profit? After all, it is all those profits the alumni have earned that come back in the form of endowments and new buildings.

I completed my four year accounting degree at a traditional university and when I began my graduate degree in international business, I started at it at the same bricks & mortar school I went to for my undergrad degree.

After a job change, I transferred to the University of Phoenix bricks and mortar campus and didn't notice much of a difference between the two schools. A year later I received a job promotion requiring an increase in travel and some odd hours. I switched to UOP online for the second year of my graduate degree and noticed a huge difference between classroom and online classes. First of all, online classes were much harder and required quite a bit more work than I had to expend sitting in a classroom. I think the workload is increased to ensure the student is spending an adequate amount of hours on the material. I averaged 20 hours a week between online classes and homework. It was brutal on top of a full time job and having a family to attend to. Second, I noticed collaborating with a team of people who all lived locally was nowhere near as enriching as working with a team of professionals from all over the world. This made a huge difference in the way I thought and the way I had to approach problem solving with different cultural and regional issues. Talk about a learning experience! Finally, having the advantage of learning from professors from all over the nation who are accomplished and working in their fields was also invaluable. Particularly in the legal classes and the banking/finance classes. My online education was worth every dime and my salary has risen 40% since 2007.

Debateroom...Great!